Compared with major military powers, such as the U.S., China's defense spending is quite low, whether as a percentage of the GDP, the total budget, or in terms of per citizen or per service member expenditure, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) said on Monday while briefing the press on the session scheduled from March 5 to 11.

China has maintained a reasonable and steady increase in overall defense expenditure while promoting sustained and sound economic and social development in recent years to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, meet the needs of advancing military transformation with Chinese characteristics and better fulfill its international responsibilities as a major country, said Lou.